Toronto, ONT, Dec. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diva International Inc. (Diva), the makers of the DivaCup, the #1 menstrual cup, released their selected Impact Partners for their 2021/2022 fiscal year. This year, Diva, whose advocacy work is centered at the intersection of climate crises, lack of accessibility to safe and sustainable products, and the destigmatization of a life-giving bodily process, has chosen to collaborate with 9 organizations that align with one or more of their newly announced core impact pillars: Access to Safe and Affordable Menstrual Products; Menstrual, Reproductive, and Sexual Health Care; Gender Equity, Empowerment and Liberation; and Environmental Stewardship.
“Diva has supported many deserving programs throughout our company history. This year we felt the need to identify the key areas of advocacy focus to ensure that the resources we allocate through our Impact Program are meeting the needs of our communities. We are incredibly proud to be working with this year’s Impact Program partners. Each organization inspires us with their commitment to enact real and meaningful progress.” says Diva International Inc.’s President, Rick Saini.
Diva’s 2021/2022 partners include; Period Purse, No More Secrets, PERIOD, SHORE Centre, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, Black Women’s Blueprint, Fora - Network for Change (formerly known as G(irls)20), Platform, and CIER - Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources. Throughout their fiscal year, Diva International Inc. will commit both monetary and product resources to each organization’s respective programs.
“We are so thankful to Diva for their generous donation to Platform. As a youth-led nonprofit organization, we are glad to have Diva in our corner as we continue to build leadership capacity among young Black, Indigenous, and racialized women and gender-diverse people. Civic leadership and education are crucial tools for gender equality and liberation, and this donation will strengthen our capacity to create much-need space for important conversations with our community” says Arezoo Najibzadeh (she/her), Founder and Managing Director of Platform.
"We are in awe of the difference our partners are making with their efforts. Resources, both monetary and in-kind, are essential to the ability of these organizations to execute their critical work. Our missions and values are aligned with each and every one of our collaborations, and together we believe we can create a better world for generations to come.” - Carinne Chambers-Saini, Founder and CEO of Diva.
Diva International Inc. will release a full Impact Report that will detail the results of the collaborations May 2022. The Company looks forward to having a part in the meaningful work that these inspiring organizations undertake every day. Diva’s 2020 Impact Report can be found HERE.
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About Diva International Inc.
Established in 2002, Diva’s founders, Francine Chambers and her daughter, Carinne Chambers-Saini, have become disruptors in the menstrual care industry, passionately following their dream to create a menstrual cup, a healthy and effective alternative to disposables. Their hero product, the DivaCup, is an easy-to-use, cost-effective, and eco-friendly alternative to disposable tampons and pads, offering up to 12 hours of leak-free protection. Diva is also passionately committed to its social impact program. Its mission is to establish meaningful partnerships globally to address issues of accessibility, menstrual equity, and education. As Diva believes that menstruation should be a fact of life, not life-limiting, the company is passionately committed to breaking taboos surrounding menstruation worldwide. For more information, please visit ShopDiva.
Get Social with the DivaCup:
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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/DivaInternational
More on our partners:
Period Purse
The Period Purse strives to achieve menstrual equity by providing people who menstruate with access to free menstrual products. They aim to reduce the stigma surrounding periods through public education and advocacy. They seek to erase the stigma surrounding menstruation and shed light on the unique challenges faced by people who live in the margins. They are committed to education about healthy periods and menstrual equity. They have also partnered with a few Indigenous Communities to bring Moontime Reusable Kits to young people going through their rite of passage and learning about their moontime (period).
No More Secrets
No More Secrets is a sexuality awareness non-profit organization, whose mission is to decrease the silence and secrecy associated with the menstrual cycle by destigmatizing and normalizing societal behaviors, language, and attitudes related to menstruation and menstrual hygiene. No More Secrets delivers over 38,000 menstrual products per week to community members in need. They explain what Period Poverty is here.
PERIOD
PERIOD distributes free menstrual products to communities in need. In 2020 they donated over 5,000,000 menstrual products to people who menstruate in need. PERIOD has volunteer chapters and partners in 49 states and in over 50 countries. PEROPD also works with the fundamental ethic that period rights are human rights.
SHORE Centre
The Sexual Health Options, Resources & Education Centre, or SHORE Centre was founded in 1972. The Centre grew out of the Birth Control Centre at the University of Waterloo in order to provide all residents of the community with sexual health information and support. They offer exceptional and inclusive sexual and reproductive health services to anyone who needs it.
SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change
SIECUS works to advance sex education through advocacy, policy and coalition building. They work to advance comprehensive sexuality education as a means of building a foundation for a long-term culture shift that will positively impact all levels of society, particularly issues of gender and racial equity, sexuality, sexual and reproductive health, consent, personal safety, and autonomy. In 2020 SHORE hosted an event called Myth or Menstruation - put on by the Kitchener Public Library and SHORE Centre, celebrating the experiences of people who menstruate. This podcast episode features stories people have shared with SHORE Centre surrounding menstruation. The stories shared in this podcast hope to normalize talking about periods, talk about menstrual equity, and to bond through hearing each other’s experiences.
Black Women’s Blueprint
Black Women’s Blueprint aims to co-create a vibrant and safe community where women and all people can live lives of sovereignty and dignity. They run the Sistas Van a trauma-informed, survivor-centered Mobile Healing Unit. This van is an all-gender affirming space that centers the experiences and needs of Black women and femmes to fill the need for support services across the spectrum of sexual and reproductive health.
Fora - Network for Change (formerly known as G(irls)20)
Fora is a centre of excellence for young women’s leadership development. Through their signature programs - Global Summit, Girls on Boards and Next Level - they make strategic investments in young women through education and training, building networks, and by providing access to unparalleled opportunities at home and abroad. While advocating for change at the global level through the annual Global Summit, Fora is also invested in changing the status quo for young women across Canada by placing young leaders in decision-making spaces with Girls on Boards and upskilling young women with Next Level.
Fora's 2020 Annual Impact Report, see here.
Platform
Platform is a leadership organization for Black, Indigenous, and racialized young women and gender-diverse people. They are on a mission to advance the priorities of BIPOC women and gender diverse youth. Their work takes an intersectional and holistic approach to understand, challenge, and transform complex systems of power and institutions that govern our day-today lives. One of their programs is called The Redefining Leadership Fellowship. It provides the tools and knowledge Black, Indigenous, and racialized young women and gender diverse youth need to develop intersectional leadership that reflects the collective, anti-oppressive, and transformative work they do.
CIER - Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources
CIER wase Established as a national First Nation directed environmental non-profit charitable organization in 1995. Their mission is to work in partnership with Indigenous nations to support and
build sustainable Indigenous communities and protect lands and waters. CIER is governed by an Indigenous Board of Directors, and they collaborate with numerous national and regional Indigenous partner organizations and advisors to best protect our environmental resources.
Indigenous Nations in Canada are leaders of positive environmental change. CIER supports Indigenous Nations to use the best western and Indigenous Knowledge to create a world that is in balance and supports the well-being of all living things. Learn more about their current projects here.
